EXECUTIVE SESSION; Congressional Record Vol. 165, No. 148
(Senate - September 16, 2019)

Text available as:

Formatting necessary for an accurate reading of this text may be shown by tags (e.g., <DELETED> or <BOLD>) or may be missing from this TXT display. For complete and accurate display of this text, see the PDF.


[Pages S5488-S5490]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           EXECUTIVE SESSION

                                 ______
                                 

                           EXECUTIVE CALENDAR

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the Senate will 
proceed to executive session to resume consideration of the following 
nomination, which the clerk will report.

[[Page S5489]]

  The legislative clerk read the nomination of John Rakolta, Jr., of 
Michigan, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the 
United States of America to the United Arab Emirates.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Ohio.
  Mr. BROWN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to speak as in 
morning business.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.


                       United Auto Workers Strike

  Mr. BROWN. Today I hope my colleagues will join me in standing in 
solidarity with thousands of UAW workers in Ohio and around the 
country. Workers are going without their paychecks today because they 
are demanding General Motors respect the work they do which has made 
this company so successful.
  All workers have the right to stand up for fair pay and benefits, for 
better working conditions, and for a voice in their company. Let's be 
clear. The autoworkers, shall we say, are the engine behind GM's 
success. GM wouldn't be making a dime of profit without the workers who 
actually make their cars and trucks. Autoworkers stood up and made 
sacrifices to help GM when times were tough.
  The Presiding Officer was a Member of the House then, and I was a 
Member of the Senate. We saw what happened during the rescue of the 
auto industry and how much those workers gave up to save this industry. 
We remember the depths of the recession. We remember when President 
Obama took office as 800,000 were losing their jobs the first month and 
700,000 the second month until, with the auto rescue, House Democrats, 
with President Obama, turned this economy around. We have seen, 
literally, economic growth each quarter over the last 10 years. This 
was, in large part, because so many workers, like the UAW workers, were 
willing to give up something at the bargaining table.
  In some cases, clearly, some people in this town wanted to abandon 
that company. Now that times are better, all the workers are asking for 
is their fair share. So far, GM has not treated these workers as the 
critical partners they are in our auto industry.
  Look at what GM has done in my State. Look at what they did in 
Lordstown, OH. The company shut down its most productive plant in North 
America, by GM's own measurements. The Lordstown plant near Youngstown, 
OH, as recently as 2\1/2\ years ago--back during the Obama 
administration--had 4,500 workers working there. Even though President 
Trump said: Don't sell your homes; these jobs are coming back, they 
have been laid off--hundreds of workers, 4,500 over the last couple 
years. At the same time, GM announced they were going to build the 
Chevy Blazer in Mexico.
  GM could retool that Lordstown plant, and they could build the Blazer 
in Ohio. They could put some of their electric vehicles in the 
Lordstown plant in Ohio. We know they have plenty of money to work 
with. They earned higher than expected profits in the first quarter of 
this year. President Trump's tax cuts for the rich gave huge amounts of 
tax breaks to General Motors. Much of the money went to General Motors' 
executives. All these workers are asking for is to share in those 
profits, have a voice in their company.
  GM made the decision to close Lordstown and other plants around the 
country with no input from the workers who earned those profits for 
that company. Now workers are standing up and fighting for increased 
investments in their local communities.
  I spoke this week with Gary Jones, the international president of the 
United Auto Workers, about Lordstown and bringing these jobs back. That 
is what they are trying to win at the bargaining table.
  We know strikes are always a last resort for workers. My wife grew up 
in Ashtabula, OH. Her dad carried a union card, Utility Workers of 
America. He did maintenance for that plant for more than 30 years. 
Twice when she was growing up they went on strike. She knows, as 
workers know, they never get back what they lose in a strike. So when 
they strike, it is when their backs are against the wall. The wife of 
one GM worker posted online this week: ``I can only pray this strike is 
short.''
  These workers want to do their jobs. They want to work. They don't 
want to be on the picket line. They want to reach a solution that 
honors their work.
  GM needs to agree to a contract that honors the dignity of work and 
recognizes autoworkers, the communities, and the families who are 
affected by this and who helped drive the success of the auto industry 
in Ohio and across the country.


                               Healthcare

  Mr. President, once again, the Trump administration is trying to take 
healthcare away from people.
  I will never forget. I was sitting at this desk on the Senate floor 
the night when Senators Murkowski, Collins, and McCain voted against 
repealing the Affordable Care Act. I watched my colleagues--all of whom 
have good health insurance--all of us have good health insurance 
because of taxpayers. I watched my colleagues, one after another after 
another, vote to take health insurance away from millions of people. 
There are 900,000 people in my State alone who have insurance now 
because of the Affordable Care Act.
  This time, the Trump administration is trying to pull funding from 
health facilities that tell the truth to their patients--facilities 
like Planned Parenthood--that nearly 100,000 Ohioans rely on. They are 
blocking title X funding for any healthcare organization that actually 
gives patients medically relevant information and the full range of 
healthcare options. We know who makes these decisions. I hate to say it 
this way, but it is mostly White men in Washington, and they have very 
serious consequences for Ohio women.

  This month, two Planned Parenthood clinics in Cincinnati announced 
they will have to close their doors. This will be devastating for so 
many Southwest Ohio women. It will mean they have fewer options for 
healthcare services they need, including preventive care like cancer 
screenings and STI testing and birth control. It will mean many women 
won't be able to see the doctors they rely on and trust.
  A student in Cincinnati named Caroline--who said we can use her first 
name--talked to a local reporter about what this decision means for 
her. She said:

       I have a very close relationship with my provider. There's 
     a lot of trust there that's been built over the years.

  But now, because of this President, she is not going to be able to 
see that doctor anymore--to what purpose other than playing politics?
  I got a letter from another woman in Cincinnati, who wrote:

       As someone who lost her grandmother to uterine cancer in 
     March, I know how important it is for women to have access to 
     the healthcare services that Planned Parenthood provides. 
     Women have the right to make informed decisions about their 
     own bodies and to have access to examinations that can help 
     save their lives.

  That came from a woman in Cincinnati.
  We know Planned Parenthood provides these exams and tests. These 
clinics are often the only places that many women and some men have to 
turn. They either can't afford somewhere else, or they live too far 
away from other healthcare providers to have any other real option. 
Last year, the West Side clinic that is closing in Cincinnati performed 
more than 6,900 STI tests. The Springdale clinic that is closing 
performed more than 6,300 tests.
  Another woman from Cincinnati wrote to say that her 30-year-old 
daughter has an advanced degree, but her income is ``below poverty 
level,'' and she relies on Planned Parenthood for her care. Does this 
mean she won't get care? It probably does. It means she can't afford to 
go anywhere else. She will just go without care, and we know what can 
then happen to someone. The mother of the 30-year-old daughter said: 
``Now she will be hard-pressed to find a provider that will take her 
for checkups, to receive birth control and more.''
  The assault on women's healthcare isn't just coming from the Trump 
administration; they are encouraging rightwing State legislatures all 
over the country. Over the past few years, we have seen State 
legislatures notably--including my State, unfortunately, Ohio--making 
it harder and harder for clinics to operate and provide those 
preventive services. They

[[Page S5490]]

cut funding, they increase redtape, they rail against bureaucrats and 
bureaucracy, but they make it harder with more redtape. They come up 
with rule after unnecessary rule to dissuade young women from coming to 
these clinics.
  These rules aren't really about patient health; they are about 
closing health clinics. Again, who made these laws? It is always the 
same. It is men who don't listen, men who don't understand how women's 
bodies' work. It is men who don't understand how preventive care, like 
birth control, works. It is time for old White men in Washington and in 
courtrooms to stop trying to take away women's healthcare.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.


                             Cloture Motion

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Pursuant to rule XXII, the Chair lays before 
the Senate the pending cloture motion, which the clerk will state.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

                             Cloture Motion

       We, the undersigned Senators, in accordance with the 
     provisions of rule XXII of the Standing Rules of the Senate, 
     do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the nomination 
     of John Rakolta, Jr., of Michigan, to be Ambassador 
     Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of 
     America to the United Arab Emirates.
         Mitch McConnell, David Perdue, John Cornyn, John 
           Barrasso, Mike Crapo, John Thune, Tim Scott, John 
           Hoeven, Shelley Moore Capito, Kevin Cramer, John 
           Boozman, Steve Daines, Richard Burr, James E. Risch, 
           Roy Blunt, Thom Tillis, Martha McSally.

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. By unanimous consent, the mandatory quorum 
call has been waived.
  The question is, Is it the sense of the Senate that debate on the 
nomination of John Rakolta, Jr., of Michigan, to be Ambassador 
Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to 
the United Arab Emirates, shall be brought to a close?
  The yeas and nays are mandatory under the rule.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk called the roll.
  Mr. THUNE. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator 
from Tennessee (Mr. Alexander), the Senator from Texas (Mr. Cruz), The 
Senator from Mississippi (Mrs. Hyde-Smith), the Senator from Louisiana 
(Mr. Kennedy), the Senator from Idaho (Mr. Risch), the Senator from 
Kansas (Mr. Roberts), the Senator from Utah (Mr. Romney), the Senator 
from Pennsylvania (Mr. Toomey), and the Senator from Mississippi (Mr. 
Wicker).
  Further, if present and voting, the Senator from Tennessee (Mr. 
Alexander) would have voted ``yea.''
  Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from Colorado (Mr. Bennet), 
the Senator from New Jersey (Mr. Booker), the Senator from New York 
(Mrs. Gillibrand), the Senator from California (Ms. Harris), the 
Senator from Minnesota (Ms. Klobacher), the Senator from Washington 
(Mrs. Murray), the Senator from Vermont (Mr. Sanders), the Senator from 
Hawaii (Mr. Schatz), and the Senator from Massachusetts (Ms. Warren) 
are necessarily absent.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there any other Senators in the Chamber 
desiring to vote?
  The yeas and nays resulted--yeas 55, nays 27, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 282 Ex.]

                                YEAS--55

     Barrasso
     Blackburn
     Blunt
     Boozman
     Braun
     Burr
     Capito
     Cassidy
     Collins
     Coons
     Cornyn
     Cotton
     Cramer
     Crapo
     Daines
     Enzi
     Ernst
     Fischer
     Gardner
     Graham
     Grassley
     Hassan
     Hawley
     Hoeven
     Inhofe
     Isakson
     Johnson
     Jones
     King
     Lankford
     Lee
     Manchin
     McConnell
     McSally
     Moran
     Murkowski
     Murphy
     Paul
     Perdue
     Peters
     Portman
     Rounds
     Rubio
     Sasse
     Scott (FL)
     Scott (SC)
     Shaheen
     Shelby
     Sinema
     Stabenow
     Sullivan
     Tester
     Thune
     Tillis
     Young

                                NAYS--27

     Baldwin
     Blumenthal
     Brown
     Cantwell
     Cardin
     Carper
     Casey
     Cortez Masto
     Duckworth
     Durbin
     Feinstein
     Heinrich
     Hirono
     Kaine
     Leahy
     Markey
     Menendez
     Merkley
     Reed
     Rosen
     Schumer
     Smith
     Udall
     Van Hollen
     Warner
     Whitehouse
     Wyden

                             NOT VOTING--18

     Alexander
     Bennet
     Booker
     Cruz
     Gillibrand
     Harris
     Hyde-Smith
     Kennedy
     Klobuchar
     Murray
     Risch
     Roberts
     Romney
     Sanders
     Schatz
     Toomey
     Warren
     Wicker
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. On this vote, the yeas are 55, the nays are 
27.
  The motion is agreed to.
  The majority leader is recognized.


                           Order of Procedure

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that 
notwithstanding rule XXII, the postcloture time on the Rakolta 
nomination expire at noon on Tuesday, September 17; further, that if 
cloture is invoked on the Howery nomination, the postcloture time 
expire at 3:30 p.m., and if either of the nominations are confirmed the 
motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table and 
the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action; finally, 
that notwithstanding rule XXII, following disposition of the Howery 
nomination, the Senate vote on the cloture motions for the Destro, 
McIntosh, and Callanan nominations.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Without objection, it is so ordered.

                          ____________________